Grey Rights (Fairy Tail SIOC)
by Brave69105
Summary: Finding myself within my a small version of my body that has been animefied. Seriously, that's it. Self Insert into Fairy Tail, Lewds later on maybe.
1. Chapter 1

**Here we go people, another Fairy Tail SI.**

Do you know why most anime characters don't have many defining facial features, of course, aside from the eyes, nose and mouth?

It's quite simple if you think about it. Artists don't want to waste time adding the small spots or the dark bags under one's eye for every character in every frame. I get it - I've had my own experience in drawing, I would just skip all the details if they weren't necessary to the context or character.

Something like that would be a miracle to many people. The thriving beauty business that focuses on the insecurities of people and takes advantage of that only proves it. Commercial breaks on TV have at least one beauty product that caters to these people.

So it would be safe to say that should these people come to life, they would be amongst the more aesthetically pleasing.

With that being said….

"Can someone tell me what happened to my face?!" I cried out. I doubt anybody could hear me. All I know is that I am alone, beside a river in a large forest, with nothing but the clothes on my back. Said clothes being too big to fit my previously larger body.

There were ripples on the surface of the water as I stared in once again. I tried to make out every detail as another ripple appeared. The soft-rounded face, the dark flowing fair, the button nose and the bright blue eyes.

I felt my stomach curl at the sight, It was...different from what I was used to, different from what I wanted.

The ripples in the water picked up stronger and stronger yet the sun excused any thought of rain.

Gone was the fading acne of puberty, the tired eyes, the crooked nose from a fight gone wrong. I wanted something out of place, some insecurity, something that would prove to me that I wasn't some drawing in someone's office.

In the end, I found nothing.

"This makes no sense. Just how does this happen?" I whispered aloud, the taste of salt on my tongue. "Am I crying?"

Sure enough, I was crying. I didn't even notice the soft sounds of my whimpers and the damp spots on the beach I knelt upon. I felt something in my stomach as I stared upon my reflection, hoping that I would see my old, tired and slightly chubby face come back to me.

I inched away from the large body of water, fearing that what I see would change again. I tore my eyes away from the water and towards the horizon.

The beautiful bright blue-green water that people would pay money to see and swim in is all that I could see. Nothing was visible in the distance. No land, no animals and no ships.

In conclusion, I found myself in clothes that are too big for me, a body that is too perfect for me and a beach that looks to perfect for me.

As much as I wanted to, I couldn't let my panic override me, at least more than it already has. Doing so would waste time, time which could be used to find food, shelter and some drinkable water. Once I have those three down, I will be able to dedicate time into figuring out how to deal with this situation.

Right, what would I do first though?

In order of necessity, It would be water, shelter and food. I can only survive 2 to 3 days without water, so that would be first. The shelter comes next 'cause of the lack of clouds in the sky, that would mean that the night could get really cold and I don't want to risk it. Food would be fine for a while since humans can survive about 3 weeks without food.

It's better to focus on what I need first before I crave into my own desires.

However, I doubt that I'll be able to find any fresh drinking water here so with that in mind I headed inland. That's where most of the resources are. I would be more careful in going into the large and encompassing forest behind me but I don't have time to hesitate. I'm most likely not going to get any fish nor am I going to get any food from this desolate beach.

Pulling up the waist of my pants, I grab my belt and pull in hard so the pants can hold on. The legs of the pants are rolled up so I can walk properly. I had to take off my shoes, they were too big for me to use so I had just tied them together and carried it on my shoulders. The shirt was fine, it was only oversized but it still didn't get in the way of anything so I left it as it is.

Many different thoughts were going through my head as I trekked past the tall trees, '_How am I going to get home?' 'How am I going to explain why I look the way I do?' 'Who is going to believe me?'_

Those were just some of the questions I was asking myself.

Yet there were no solutions to said questions.

That's a palm tree...a palm tree full of coconuts.

If that's true, then where am I? There's no way that I'm anywhere near home. Palm trees don't grow anywhere near England. More questions keep popping up and I'm no closer to finding answers.

'_How am I supposed to get up there?'_ I thought to myself, staring up towards the fruit of the palm tree.

The thought of throwing something up there crossed my mind but that was immediately thrown away, if I could throw a rock up there and it would be strong enough to make the coconut drop, then they would drop on their own. Maybe I could shimmy up there.

...that could work. Though, It would be tricky too so. I'm not sure if I have the upper body strength to get up there but I could at least try. Wrapping my arms around the stalk of the tree, I pull myself up and wrap my legs around the trunk on the tree.

You see, a big problem with this was that I thought I was big enough to wrap around the tree properly. Surprise surprise, I fell down as I lost the proper grip on the tree. Not that I really expected anything.

Looking at the shoes over my shoulders, I let a soft smirk emerge on my face. I took the shoes off of my shoulder and made sure the lacing was tight enough so it wouldn't break. Unlike those survival experts you would see on TV, I did not know how to make a rope out of vines or leaves or whatever...but I at least knew how to use what I had with me.

I pulled the shoes around the tree and held each one in a separate hand, the lace tightly digging into the tree on the other side. I used the shoes so I could walk up the tree.

Each step getting me closer and closer to my target. As I walked upwards, I had to concentrate on keeping my feet on the tree, one slip and I would fall to the ground. That is not an outcome I planned to end up in.

Slowly but surely, I was able to get myself to the top. It took longer than I expected, mainly because I had underestimated the size of the tree, while the change of my perspective made the tree look bigger than I thought it was, I planned using my old height. Therefore, the sun slowly started to dip from its highpoint as I finally made it up.

Whilst it's all good that I made it up here, there was something else missing in this equation.

"I used both my hands to get up here and my feet are supporting my body…" I stated aloud to myself. "Just how am I supposed to get the fucking fruit?!"

It was also in that moment of anger, Something exploded within me, I felt a new sensation I've never felt before. The feeling of your heart dropping before it suddenly jumps out of your chest, pumping adrenaline at insane speeds around your body. As if a sort of warmth had started to fill within my body.

It was as if I felt weightless. Something within me felt as if I could run for thousands of miles and still have energy bursting, wanting to be released. The world around me started to warp as if my perspective changed. The tree I had perched myself upon grew further and further away as if someone was pulling me away from it.

"Ow…"

Or maybe it was me falling.

I instantly gave up in this activity, I know it seems pathetic but I would rather look for other ways of finding food than wasting my time and losing energy in trying to get this coconut. At least I would have a sort of back should I not find anything else.

I retraced my steps, giving up on that stupid fruit, limping back on the beach. The sun was still in its afternoon stage, I doubt I know what it is accurate but, from the looks of it, it looks like the sun was at around five to six o'clock.

Funnily enough, I started to feel hungry after the exertion. I was going to head back, that's for certain but as of right now, I don't have anything to help me.

**-=Grey Rights=-**

Why is there a boat here? I don't remember this being here before. Then again, I doubt this is the part of the beach I found myself in. I didn't see any of my tracks around here at all. Everything seems to blur, especially with how little I care right now.

I think the correct term for this mini boat is dingy, there was nothing on it. No food or no clean/drinkable water, in fact, there was no sign of anyone actually using it. It was clear that someone was here, very recently in fact, especially with the footprints.

These aren't shoes, I could easily tell you that. I noticed that they weren't that much smaller than mine. It's kind of weird that there would be someone out there that would without any sort of supplies. There is the fact that they could have taken some but that seems unlikely.

Is this some chance encounter? Who am I going to find?

This makes this all sound like I'm part of some big story. With all that's going on, that might as well be true.

There were some footprints that lead from the boat, my feet weren't that much bigger than them. Seeing as I had nothing else to do and that I got nowhere earlier, I got up and started following the footprints. Hopefully whoever this was could help me get a hold of this situation.

As I followed the footprints of the warm sand, I end up back in the little coven of trees that seemed to wrap all the way around the beach. It's not as big enough to call a forest yet it was still big enough that I couldn't see the end enough, however, I could attribute that to the low amount of light getting through.

The trail that had first led me to the little cluster of trees had vanished, in its place, I could see many different things that would point out the trail. The few sticks that had fallen to the floor after being snapped, the occasional ripped shreds of clothing and the monstrous amounts of eaten berries.

Whoever was in the dingy must have hungry, with the amount of fruit I am finding, the last time they must have eaten was a while. They also seem to be in a hurry with all the clues leading up to them, however, with the lack of ships around here, they didn't look like they were being chased. They must have been starving to rush this quickly.

What's this? A clue, for little old me.

I crouched down to pick a little slither of hair. I was only joking earlier but this only solidified the fact that there was some sort of cosmic play here. There are only a few redheads I remember having hair this red and vibrant from any shows I've seen. Probably more but I can't think of them now.

The one I've narrowed it down to was the only one I've seen the, now obvious, clues for. I may be weeb trash but haven't watched many shows, only getting fully involved with a few of them I like.

The dirty rags that I've seen, the lone dingy and the gluttonous eating only point to one redhead I know yet this could all be just an assumption. As much as it doesn't concern me, I think it's a good use of my time to see if it holds out. 

If I'm right, I won't have to deal with all that is cannon and have time to get ready. Better than most people in my situation.

"S-Stay there...and don't move." Someone called out. This is probably the person that I was following, it's got to be.

"Why?" I asked. "I haven't done anything to make you cautious nor have you got any incentive to attack me."

I suddenly find myself falling back again, the itching taking over as it gets stronger and stronger. The feeling becoming harder to push away as I catch myself. Before me, a rusty sword, that had never seen any sort of cleaning or care, was placed before my feet.

I guess they do have the incentive, I didn't think they would have gained this ability get.

I crawl backwards in a stupified state, never taking my eyes off the sword before me. My heart started to pump that same adrenaline again and my mind was running to figure out how to get out of this situation.

"Ok, Ok…" I let out with a heavy breath "...I'll stay here."

It kinda scared me a little that the sword was too fast for me to see, she could have easily lobbed my head off.

"W-Why are you following me?!" She cried out.

I barely caught the sword subtly glowing with every word she gave out as if her words and emotion affecting it. She's a child who was tired, scared, hungry and more importantly _HAS AN ARSENAL OF WEAPONRY SHE SHOOTS OUT LIKE A TINY GILGAMESH._

"I was hungry and thought that you would have food…" I stated. "As you can see, I am currently in my own predicament." I trailed off laughing slightly.

I played upon the fact that I seemed to be the same that she was. A lost child, as much as it pains me to say, who's hungry and without direction. Some sort of familiarity could help in this situation, at least calming her down.

"And you thought I would have some?" I could tell that she was less agitated. My guess would be that it worked and she was buying it.

"Eh...You're the only choice I got." Now here's the real kicker. "I mean if you can throw swords like it's nobody's business, I have some ways of getting water and some fruit around here. It beats having these berries that's for sure."

And here she is ladies and gentlemen.

The woman who would strike fear into the hearts of men and women alike, whose reputation would shake the morale of her enemies, the one who would be known as one of the strongest female mages, if not the strongest of her guild.

May I present to you, Little miss Erza Scarlet.

"Show me how we get that water...and I won't hurt you." Erza stated.

She tried to intimidate me, I guess it would work on most people. I mean, an angry child who just threw a sword at you would intimidate most people but I have the secret of knowing her character, she wouldn't hurt someone who was defenceless without reason.

Here I am, giving her the perception of someone scared and in the same situation as her. I doubt she would find any reason to hurt me.

"Ok...sure, just p-point that away from me." I let out, walking back from where I came. I played the role that expected me to be, it wasn't hard to. I guess I still hard that fear within me that I had to dig out.

"Where do we find your fruit?" Erza asked, her eyes never leaving me.

I let her walk behind me as I retraced my steps. It was easy too as I didn't want to get stabbed by anything. To be honest, I doubt she has much control over it. The whole time she's been fumbling with her sword and keeping it with her the whole time.

She isn't able to put it away, maybe even using it for-No, definitely using it as some sort of emotional support. Especially with the way she points her blade towards every sound of this little area.

The few things I know right now are kind of limited. I'm in Fairy Tail, Erza's joining Fairy Tail, Erza going to keep her blade pointed at my back as much as she can and I'm most likely going to join her.

In all honesty, I doubt that I would go on my own. I have no one who's obligated to help me and have nowhere to go. Erza is the only one who can help me, I just need to get onto her good side. If I can get on there, I doubt I would do anything bad enough to leave and would have a powerful ally in this broken world.

"Here it is." I let out, snapping myself out of my planning. This is the tree that I had previously tried to get up. The weight of my shoes reminding me of the failure that I had accomplished today.

"How are we going to get up there?" Erza questioned. I was hoping it didn't come to this.

This only proves my point earlier, she can't control her magic. I wanted to ask earlier before but I don't think she would tell me.

"Can't you throw your sword up there?" I asked anyway.

"It's…" She was hesitant but at least she was somewhat willing to tell me. "...magic and I...can't control it."

"Magic huh…" I made it seem like I was surprised. "Maybe we can use the sword to cut the tree down."

After everything that has happened at home, I feel weird when cutting down trees. Nature was something I liked and wanted to protect, especially when people here don't really know how good they've got it. I'll make sure to replant it after I'm done.

"Ok...that might work."

Might work? Wow...give me some credit geez.

Erza watched like a hawk as I twisted and turned to find a good vantage point. What I wanted was to cut down the tree without it getting caught on the way down. I wanted to keep the tree casualties down.

I noticed that now she had me in her sights, she was much calmer. She wasn't as jumpy as she was whilst we were first walking together. Another good sign.

"I want you to cut here, here and here." I broke her out of whatever thoughts she had and called her over. I wanted to get this over and done with so I can have a drink. I was getting thirsty and dry air wasn't helping.

With the promise of water, she leapt at the chance to help. Her caution towards me pushed towards the back of her mind as she hit the tree with all her might.

When I say all her might, I really mean it. She let a roar before swinging her sword with all the strength she had left.

As much as she hyped it up since the sword barely made a dent in the tree. With her exhausted state, it gave me a chance so I walked to her side and held out a hand to support her. She eyed me warily but eventually allowed me to help her up.

Even without her strength, she didn't let me use the sword. The lack of trust is understandable but it still kinda hurts. Nothing I can do about it now. It's best to let her do whatever she wanted.

She did have a _FUCKING SWORD._

**-=Grey Rights=- **

I set aside one of the coconuts so I could plant them, we had more than enough to last us a while and I doubt that Erza would miss one. We used her sword to cut up the fruit, allowing the _Delicious_ water to fall out.

It was funny, in a morbid kind of way, how Erza desperately tried to get as much water as she could out...saying it aloud makes it sound horrible.

The time spent getting the tree to cut down was wasteful, the night had started to creep up as the sun slowly slipped away. We could have easily gotten that tree down much quicker had Erza not have tried pointing that thing every time I tried to help.

As I said before, It can't be helped.

Though since now it was getting close tonight, the sun barely peeking over the edge of the horizon, I noticed it was much more different than a night at home. Back home, every street would be lightened up with lampposts or some sort of alternative. Here it isn't that simple. Especially when the moonlight, our only source of light was being cut off by the trees.

"Erza...I'm going to need you cut that tree down." I asked her, making her pause mid gulp. "The one before into little pieces that are more manageable and easier to use, can you do that for me?"

I planned to use that tree as firewood, we needed some sort of fire to keep warm in the night. I doubt we'll find some sort of shelter but I can at least do this.

"Like this…?" Erza called out. She was panting, still from a lack of energy, but still did what I asked of her.

"Thank you, Let's take this down to the beach, Ok?" I replied, getting a nod from her. "We don't want to make a forest fire, do we?"

It was good to keep her involved, or at least give the illusion that she was involved. I don't know what she would do if she thought I didn't need her help. Hell, she could even leave me. At this rate, I would give her the thought that we are both equals here, she wouldn't harm me if I speak up and she won't be intimidated.

Manipulating kids...where has my life gone?

I used my hands to break off all the dry bark to use as kindling, I would need it to get the fire started in the first place. I ended up delegating the job to Erza as she was able to just shave it off with her sword.

Whilst she did that, I made a hole for where I would make the fire. This would make the sand at the bottom wet so the fire won't spread, that would be the last thing we wanted whilst-

"Here you go."

I nearly jumped out of my skin as Erza drops shaving of dead bark and the mini longs I asked for, luckily enough she didn't see it. I merely took it off my mind with the building of the teepee, where the fire starts and supporting the overall structure. Next, came the fire, I merely use two sticks that I would rub together, the 'fire plow' technique. This was one of the more known techniques when creating fire, you use enough speed and pressure to create small amounts of charcoal that are still warm, they would be put onto some kindling making the actual fire. That fire would be put onto the teepee so that we would have a large fire to, hopefully, last us a while.

Erza sat to my the side watching the whole process with an intense curiosity, I would have thought she had done this before. You know, fantasy world and the stereotype everyone knows how to survive in the forest and shite.

It was kinda funny how she found it fine when she came close to me yet didn't allow the same to happen to her.

Double standards much.

That didn't matter much, what mattered was the small amounts of smoke that were erupting from the area the two sticks were rubbing. With the heat, it was giving it out and steps I stated earlier, it wasn't hard to get a roaring fire before the two of us. I could see the sparkles in Erza's eyes as she stared upon it.

Maybe she was feeling some sort of Pride for making this.

At this point, I didn't care. It was dark, cold and I was mentally and physically tired.

I'm going to leave tomorrow's problems for tomorrow's me.

**-=Grey Rights=-**

**Hey Look, it's me. **

**I'm alive and doing **_**ANOTHER**_** fairy tail Si. At this point, I think I'm addicted but I don't care.**

**If you have compliments of my beautiful work, send it my way.**

**I'm setting a goal for myself to do at least a chapter a week. Probably won't be able to do it but I 'm going to try. **

**Next chapter will be for my DxD fic so await for that on Sunday.**

**So like, review and all that shite. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Revamped**

Waking up was weird in a sense, part of me wished that I had stayed home under my nice covers, having what essentially was a do-over was kind of like destroying everything I had built in my old life. It was funny how I thought that yet there was another part of me that was happy that I was here, it's kind of like freedom I haven't felt before.

Though part that spoke the loudest was the one that was shivering in the absolute zero that it was. There was the thought of the fire and why wasn't that roaring but it hit me soon after.

The fire wasn't supposed to last all night. Kind of common sense now that I think about it. There was nothing fueling it so the fire had died out.

I'm surprised that I felt a weight on my chest and the warmth of a body on my side. It felt weird...not really sure how else to say it. I couldn't help but feel a bit...scared. This is the girl that didn't let me use her sword, get close to her or even give me any insight into her situation, not that I didn't know already. The fact that she's this close unnerves me slightly.

Unable to wriggle myself out of there, I was about to nudge the poor girl awake before I noticed her clothing. I could see the holes for the various pieces of cloth that I had seen throughout the forest. If I was cold, I wonder how the hell she survived. I at least had on a hoodie.

Speaking of the said hoodie, I wonder how I found myself here. I'm not going to beat myself up about it nor am I going to scream in frustration. Not that I'm not...angry about leaving but I'd rather do something more productive. I might break down eventually but I doubt it will be any time soon.

"Hnnn…"

The soft sounds of Erza's sleep knocked me out of my thoughts. One of the strongest mages in Fairy Tail is just a little girl, desperate for some sort of hope in her life. Kinda poetic but this is anime.

Anything less than that and I would be surprised.

I found myself staring at the body of Erza as she rose, a cute yawn escaping her lips. "Hello..."

Before I could say a word, that same itching feeling from before appeared. It was strong enough for me to immediately want to scratch at it. The feeling was as if it was underneath my skin, there but just unable to reach it. Not only that, it felt as if it was coming from my whole body. The water from the ocean beside me looked pretty good to jump into right about now...anything to soothe it.

A flurry of wind that had just skimmed caused my heart to skip a beat. Taking a glance behind me, I saw the large pole of some sort of lance that had appeared from nowhere. It's blade stuck into the ground with small cracks appearing from the point it had entered.

Not really nowhere…

"I-'m sorry..I-" Erza cried out, that one sentence gaining more emotion that I had heard from her yesterday.

I'm just going to sit here, letting the past day flash before my eyes. The only thing I did noteworthy was find a small girl and get her help with cutting down a tree. This was all before we made a small fire that, somehow, lasted us long enough to not cause us to freeze to death.

Pretty productive if I say so myself.

I stared at the Erza for a long while, not really sure on what to do. From attacking me to trying to apologise, something is wrong and I really- like _really _don't intend to find out.

With that in mind, I take my time to walk up to her, trying to keep my footsteps loud enough to hear. I don't want her to-

Why are you questioning that I'm approaching her?

Can you really tell yourself that you're going to leave a crying child alone?

You make me sick.

I'm not sure I can really help her but if I'm going to get some sort of foundation in this world, I need whatever help I can get.

Slowly wrapping my arm around Erza's shoulder, I feel how tense she really was. I say it was as she relaxed slightly when I appeared around her. In my referrals, I saw her blades shift around slightly.

Maybe trying to get her to concentrate on something else might work.

I'm not sure but it's better than nothing.

"You know Red…," I started. "Do you know what I want?" No sound came from her but I knew she was listening. "There's so much to this world I want to see. Do you know about the kingdom of Stella?"

"N-No…" Erza spoke up, stuttering as she stared. Her puffy singular eye staring at me with an unreadable expression.

"It is said to be covered in these beautiful crystals, the same crystals are ones that absorb starlight and shine bright in the night, covering the whole kingdom with a shine that you could never see anywhere else except for the night sky."

"You're lying." She asked, whatever she was crying about was gone in the wind. She looked me in the eye. "I've never heard of it."

"No, It's true. It's beautiful and I would love to see it again." I stated, I technically did see it, through a screen. "But this time, be part of the action. Hell, I'll take you as well if you want."

"...Really?" She questioned, her eye glittering as she stared at me.

...Or maybe that was the tears.

It amazes me with the naive mindset that children process. The lack of understanding of the real world that keeps her innocent can easily be exploited to string her along. I know it may seem harsh but the suffering she has seen throughout the Tower of Heaven only brightens that beacon of hope that she has.

"Yeah...These crystals are said to be very strong and absorb magic quite easily. These would be made into a powerful piece of armour or weapons."

"Wow." The idea of powerful weapons causing a spark of happiness to ignite within her. It was kind of off-putting but that's just me trying to justify her using my own mindset and social norms imprinted in me from a young age.

All this information was from the Dragon Cry movie, I liked it but it could have been expanded much more than it already was. A matter of fact, the whole of the Fairy Tail franchise could have done more with world-building.

Did you know that there are 13 countries? and those are just the ones that were shown. There's so much more to explore and I intend to do just that.

Sure, I can be like every other person that does an isekai and stay in Fairy Tail. But why would I do that when I can see the world for what it is?

I'm most likely going to join but when I get strong enough, I'm going to live my life to the fullest and see this world for what it is.

I stood up, after that little speech to myself, stepping up to the large lance out of the ground. My own strength was abysmal. I thought I would have some cheat or something but I was not able to pull the lance out at all. With everything I had, I had just enough power to pull the lance from out of the ground but that was after using my body weight to lean back also.

Even then, I fell back down immediately to recover my limited strength and stamina.

That kind of power will get me killed in this world. I need to be strong, both for my survival and my enjoyment.

I stared back at Erza, she was clearly very cold with the way she was shivering. Not surprising considering what happened. I facepalmed at my stupidity, I remember talking about how cold it was earlier and took off my hoodie. It was long enough to reach my knees and I was half a head taller than her so it should be fine.

To be honest, anything's better than what she's wearing now.

"Here you go," I stated, calling out and breaking her out of her thoughts. "Wear this.."

I put my hand up to silence whatever she was about to say and went about collecting all the weapons that she had thrown around. I was able to see that there wasn't much variation of weapons here. There was a mace, two swords, that lance from before and a singular dagger.

I turned back to see- "Why are you naked?" I asked, turning back again.

Sorry, but looking at an underage girl is very off to me. When she's older, sure I'll look as much as I want but she's nowhere near as _developed_ as she was before. She will be?

Knowing the future is weird.

"I'm putting on your- I do not know what this is but it's nice," Erza replied, feeling no shame whatsoever. "It smells like you."

"And the sky is blue. What else is new?"

She was silent after that. I don't think she got my sarcasm, rather she was contemplating what to say with the way her mouth was opening and shutting.

"Can I ask you a question?" Erza replied

"Shoot doesn't mean I have to answer."

"Why do you have these...clothes?" Erza asked, suddenly curious. "They are too big for you."

How am I supposed to explain this? You put me in a predicament that I don't want to answer.

"And why do you have that eyepatch? Or those clothes, as a matter of fact? You don't see me asking questions?" I shot back.

"But you just did." Her lone eye blinking in confusion.

I did?

Oh, right.

"So it would seem, Red," I replied. "How about this? I tell you what happened to me and you'll tell me what happened to you. Is that fine?"

"Okay." She nodded her head and allowed me to go on.

"The last thing I remember was going to bed. I know big whoop and pretty cliche but that's the last thing I remember. I was knocked out for some reason, and that seemed weird to me as I usually have a lot of energy. I suddenly found myself on the beach here, nothing but the oversized clothes on my back, it was freaky but I'm rolling with it and waiting till I get someplace safe to break down." I said cheerily, that it was good to get off my chest.

At this rate, I may not even cry that hard.

"Do you know why?" Erza asked. "Maybe someone meant to put you here."

"Someone _mean_?" I let it roll off of my tongue. "Children I swear, so innocent, I love it-actually that sounds bad."

"Who...are you talking to?"

"Let's not worry about that, now tell me what happened."

**-=Grey Rights=-**

"There's a big cult out there in a massive tower that you and your friends asserted dominance over, claiming it for yourselves, and left hoping to join a guild all on a whim because of an old man, that seemed to like you children a little too much, sent you on."

"I think so, I don't know what some of those words mean."

"Of course, you don't." I hold back a laugh at the absurdity of it. I'm going to have so much fun with this one.

I calmed down and gaze my eyes upon the weapons I had piled up and the rag that Erza seriously dropped upon the floor. I know global warming isn't a thing but I'm not having anyone litter on my watch.

I glanced at the pile of rags that she was wearing before and had an idea.

I grabbed her rags and ripped them up, Erza stood behind me as I sat upon the floor trying the tools together.

All I know is that little red here isn't able to control her magic so she is unable to store these weapons away. Now whilst I could help her with controlling it, I know nothing about magic. I could just be like every fanfic and say 'look deep within yourself and you'll be super powerful', I cannot. I don't have the faintest clue about magic.

Something that I want to fix.

I mean this is magic we are talking about. A resource that I thought I'd only see in fiction. To think that it's very easily acquired. Granted, I know that only 10% can use it but the fact that there are many different options are just as baffling. For example, magical weapons from Edolas, I mean Mystogan was able to fight as an S-Class without the use of his own magic since he couldn't use it himself.

"What are you doing?" Erza asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Since you don't seem to be able to put away the weapons. I thought it would be better to carry them." I replied, strapping the weapons on my back and feeling the weight. "Who knows what we could use them for."

"Ah...Ok."

The only one left was the lance. Now, how are we going to take that?

"What about that?" Erza asked, switching her glances from the lance and the pile of weapons on my back. The way the sleeves flopped around looked funny.

"I can't carry it on my back since it's too big," I replied. "Not really sure what to do about it."

"'I'll do it," Erza stated. "I'm strong enough."

"Sure you are. A little cute thing like you being strong enough to pick that up." I patted her head and ruffled her hair. "If you say so."

"I can pick it up." Erza glared at me. Her puffed-up cheeks didn't make it intimidating at all.

"Yeah right red. The day you can pick that up is the day cats fly." I snorted.

Erza stomped away, like actually stomped away. Something is wrong with her to show all this emotion today.

I shrugged to myself as I didn't really care.

I stared at her before turning back. I was wondering what I would do next, Erza wants to join Fairy Tail. The only reason I'm thinking about joining is because of the prospect of magic. I doubt that she would allow me to leave on the mere fact that I doubt she wants to be alone.

"Hnnnn…" What the hell-Why did I expect anything else?

Erza was straining to pick up the lance out of the ground. Her back slowly starts to bend backwards as she tries to fight off the weight that accompanies it. With shaky arms, she was able to point the lance my way, the tip barely a metre away.

"See...I told...you." Erza didn't smirk but I could tell that she wanted to, the smugness being implied only offset by the amount of sweat that had accumulated on her round face.

"Wow…I guess cats can fly." I muttered to myself, Laughing even as Erza pushed forward, the blade coming dangerously close to me.

She eventually dropped the lance, it was weighing down on her too much.

"I'm hungry." Erza complained. "It hurts too much."

"As am I Erza..." I sated, laughing away the pain as my stomach fought to eat me from the inside. By Zeref, did it hurt. I was considering jumping on that blade to see if I could get rid of the pain that erupted from the needy place. "...but you don't see me complaining."

**...**

…

**...**

"...I can hear your stomach." Erza stated.

"You sure you're not hearing things?" I walked up to her until I was looming over her body. "Hungry people tend to imagine things."

"...There it is aga-"

"How about I help you carry this?" I interrupted. "We can carry this together and we may be able to sell it or something."

"Okay." Erza simply replied. I thought she would have had some sort of attraction to these weapons but I guess not.

With a grunt and all my strength, I put the lance on my shoulder with Erza doing the same.

Together, we walked off into the deep forest with a particular direction or a destination. All I want is food and, by Zeref, will we get it.

**-=Grey Right=-**

"And I will walk 500 miles, and I will walk 500 more." Singing to pass the time was always a favourite pastime for me.

Erza was diligently following behind me as we walked, not that she could go anywhere else with the lance on her shoulder. The blade was so dangerously close to my neck and face that, if I somehow slipped, I may not live to tell about it.

We found a path not that long after we left the beach, it seemed to go there so that place may be a resident attraction. The fact that we didn't see anyone was unusual but that's life. Erza kept her complaints to herself. With the stuff at the tower, I doubt she isn't used to holding out for food, especially after long hours of work.

Works for me, I guess.

"Hey...look behind-"

"Wait, stop moving so-" I dropped the blade in a hurry. Erza was moving about so I was unable to keep a good enough handle on the blade. I jumped back with a girlish scream (I'm man enough to admit it) before I lost my head.

I was halfway there to chew her out but I saw what she was staring at.

A cart being pulled by horses.

That meant People.

And people meant food.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Erza turned to me with a confused look. "You plead and beg for food whilst I intimidate them with a lance I cannot pick up."

"We can't do that." Erza stated, slamming her part of the lance down.

"Why not?" I asked, trying to keep the lace from stabbing me in the shoulder as I turned to her.

"'Good things only come to those who deserve it' and we do not deserve anything if we steal." Erza stated, resolute in her conviction.

I forget that I'm with a 'morally correct hero' with the way she likes to stay quiet. Surprises me whenever she speaks.

"Fine. Whatever." I spat out, I could tell she didn't like it. "We'll let them pass, it's not like we could do anything anyway."

It was more desperation than anything.

I watched as the convoy trotted past, The cart was accompanied by horses that were flanking it. Atop of them were people who were wearing full sets of decked out armour. From the bottom of their toes to the tops of their heads, there wasn't a place that wasn't covered by armour.

A smooth pale white with accents of blue was all I could say about it. I didn't really understand armour much so I couldn't say.

There was one man who trailed in front of the cart that I noticed as they had gotten closer. He wore the same thing as the others but the shoulders (Pauldrons I believe) are less pronounced and a long cape attached to it. Another thing I noticed was the lack of a helmet. Something stupid, if you ask me. Though, I would do the same thing. 

Cool points mostly.

I couldn't help but notice how their gaze was locked on us as they walked by. I don't think there was any bad intent, I doubt that they think we were a threat, just curiosity.

Both Erza and I stepped back onto the road as they passed by. "Erza…" I called out. "Let me tell you something, the morals you abide by are gonna be much different to those you meet. They all have their experiences and problems. A little thing for you to think over, okay?"

I didn't hear anything, only feeling the weight of the lance shifting indicating her picking it up.

It was merely something on my mind, something I wanted to get out. Erza was just the only person there and she may be able to make something of it.

Without a word, we both headed off. Feet on the comfortable road and skin burning in the sun.

**-=Grey Rights=-**

"Yeah, and apparently the reason the kid was hated so much was that everyone thought that he had a demon in him." I said as Erza listened to the story intently. "That wasn't it though, apparently the 4th leader of the village had sealed it in the kid, so essentially he was a hero."

"A hero?" Erza replied. "How? He doesn't sound like a hero if he pranks everyone."

"The pranks were for attention, nobody spared him a second glance so he did what he could, even getting a scold just for someone to call out to him." I stated, feeling a little sombre. "He was a hero since he was protecting everyone from the demon inside of him."

"I thought heroes are the people who save the day and kill the enemy." Erza questioned, making me chuckle slightly.

"Erza, that is rarely true. It's only in those stories that it happens, mainly because we don't have the whole story, only the part we want to see." I replied.

"Only the part we want to see?" Erza parroted. "I don't understand."

"Okay…" I took a second to think about the situation. "How about this? A knight goes to rescue a princess from a tower, only for it to be guarded by a large dragon that had kidnapped her. Who is the hero?"

"The knight."

"In that scenario, yes. But how about we add more to the story?" I questioned. "The dragon was lonely and in need of a friend. The princess was the only person who spoke to him and so he asked her to join him in his tower and she accepted. Who is the hero this time?"

"The knight, I think?" She replied, slightly unsure.

I smiled at her naivety. "Now how about this, the knight knew of this but only came to her rescue for the reward that the king had offered and the chance to marry the princess. Who is the hero now?"

"Um…." Erza couldn't seem to find the right words.

"Hard to choose, right?" She agreed. "The reason the whole knight saving the damsel in distress thing is so wide-spread is that people choose not to see the bigger picture."

"I didn't know." Erza replied. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry." I replied, laughing slightly. "Just take what I said to heart and learn from it."

"Merlin...There's another carriage." Erza called out. "What do we do this time?"

Damn, already. I didn't expect anyone following the last one, a matter of fact, I didn't even expect the first one in the first place, let alone the extravagance that it was.

"Ehh...Let it pass. I doubt they'll stop for us." I replied, not having enough energy to deal with it.

Turning my head as much as I could with all the weapons I had on me, I saw that this carriage was much...cheaper, for a lack of better words. There were no fancy colours, just wood.

Only one person was there and he was the one driving the thing, I believe that's the term. I don't know my cart lingo.

As he got closer, I could see the wrinkles and the small grey patches in his brown hair. He was wearing a simple shirt and pants ensemble, not much I can say about that. He spotted us only when we got close, I guess his eyesight is pretty bad for him to see us. Isn't glasses a thing here?

He should really invest in some.

"Ahoy there." The man called out, waving slightly as he stopped before us. "What brings you to this neck of the woods?"

"Ahoy, Landlubber." If he's going for sailor lingo than so am I. "We're just heading towards the next town."

"Well, you don't seem in the right spot to be heading there." The man stated, to my confusion. "By the time you get there, you'll pass out from exhaustion or the heat."

"We don't have much of an option." I stated, making him sigh.

"Hop on in, I have enough food and water to last a while." He stated, much to my surprise. "Though, It's not for free."

"Really?" Erza exclaimed, I had to hold her back before she could go anywhere.

"What's the catch?" I simply stated, staring at man's eyes.

"Hm...How about that lance? I doubt-"

"Deal." I interrupted, throwing the lance into the back of his cart and jumping on. "My name is Merlin, this is Erza. Who are you?"

"The man's Avery, don't you forget it."

**-=Grey Rights=-**

**Revamped the chapter, hope you guys like it. Was really busy and this Corona is making it worse.**

**4k words this time but I made it up in the next chapter. **

**Quick question to those who read my DxD fic, Do you want me to revamp it? Who knows, it may give me the inspiration to continue it, right now, it's trash tier.**

**Discord: yYQ8Yqe**

**Just whack that in and you're good to go.**


	3. Chapter 3

**IMPORTANT, REVAMPED THE ENDING OF THE LAST CHAPTER. I DID NOT LIKE IT AND WANTED TO CHANGE IT. HOPEFULLY, IT'S BETTER THAN WHAT IT WAS BEFORE.**

"A wandering merchant, huh?" I questioned aloud, trying to pass the time. "What does that entail?"

A smirk etched onto his face as he turned to face me slightly, keeping his eyes on the road. "I'm a person who sells wares, trinkets and anything else I can get my hands on. The wandering part means I wander, much to my surprise when I started this job. I like to follow others, especially Rune knights, it makes sure that the path is safe enough."

"Yeah...I don't know what I was expecting." I muttered to myself but he still heard me. "Smart as well, using bait."

"Thanks and It's fine, mindless banter is better than nothing." Amery replied, a smile on his face. "Speaking of nothing, that girl you were with is very quiet. I wonder why."

I turned back to the awfully quiet Erza. She was fine talking to me, most likely for some reason I don't know yet. I wondered to myself for a moment on how I was going to reply but then I just thought, why not be honest?

"We're both wandering children with a lack of clothing, holding a bunch of weapons we're planning on selling in order to earn some sort of money. Let's not forget the fact that our parents are gone and there's no friends or family to turn to. We've lost everything and have no other hope than to follow the simple-minded goal that Erza is set upon."

I couldn't see the majority of his face but I easily could tell that his smile was gone. "A Fate takes ahold of many, I assure you."

I snorted at his words. "Yeah, I was angry at first but I've gotten over it."

"Doesn't seem like it."

No other words were uttered as we travelled. It was...fine, I felt a little uncomfortable but I knew he would understand. You can't be a successful merchant and not understand when not to talk.

Erza stayed in the back, hugging her knees and rubbing her sore feet. I honestly did not know how I was going to deal with her emotional state. One wrong move and it's a holy crusade to kill every dark mage that ever lived. A bit extreme but it's possible.

"You travel alone?" I asked. "Doesn't that ever seem lonely to you?"

"In a sense, yes. However, I meet a lot of people on my travels so it balances out." He replied.

Not really sure, it does. "If someone like you was able to pick up two kids from the road and feed them, it's not hard to see someone wanting to join you."

"...You're not the only person who said that." The long hesitation was interesting.

I'm gonna steer clear of that landmine. Let's not have the generous man throw us out.

"Can I ask what you're planning on selling when you get to town?" I questioned, hoping to change the subject. "All I see is food here."

"That's all I have this time." He replied with a lot more energy than before. "I spent a bit of my money on fishing supplies and spent a whole day fishing."

"Fishing?" I asked in confusion. "There's no fish here."

"That's because I traded the fish in the town before." He replied, a huge smirk appearing on his face. "Those suckers are inland so whilst they are able to get fresh water from various streams and rivers, not enough fish come round to meet the towns demands."

"Fucking Genius." I exclaimed. "With a few more carts and people working under you, you can rake in so much with just that little system alone." I couldn't help but laugh.

"I like the way you think." He laughed. "You're smarter than you look."

"That doesn't work here." I replied. "I'm plenty smart."

"Yes, but you look like a dumbass."

"No wonder they can get by with such good looks, I think you're just jealous of my beauty." I replied with a smirk.

He merely sent me a grin and a salute before setting his sight back before him.

I took this opportunity to hop over to the back of the cart. Erza hadn't moved the whole time, if I couldn't see her eye, I would have thought that she was asleep. Even as I got close, she didn't react at all.

"Erza~" I called out to her. "Are you done brooding over here?"

"...Brooding?" She asked, voice completely monotone. Not a good sign.

"Don't worry about it." I replied. I was tempted to ask what was wrong but this is not the time or place for that. "When we get to the town and earn some money, I'm planning on getting a few things. Is there anything you want?" I'm not really good with that whole comforting thing but I can distract her easily enough.

Yes...Run away from the problems.

"Nothing…"

"You sure?" I asked. "There's nothing you want."

"Nothing." She repeated, her voice icy.

I would have left her alone had I not known where she came from. I want her to open up, even slightly. Not for any noble goal or some romantic shit, main 'cause it's gonna be very hard to deal with a ticking time bomb. Especially since every time the bomb goes off, I feel as if it goes off in my head.

"That's too bad." I sighed, sitting beside her. "I was thinking of getting some really good food. Maybe a weapon or two. On the off chance we could get some really good money off of this, Maybe even buy some books on magic."

It was as if I could see the gears rolling in her mind, her mouth twitching ever so slightly giving me a small sense of hope that she isn't as emotionless as she is.

"Clothes…" She started after a while.

"That's a given, we both-"

"Food." she interrupted me halfway through.

"Yes, however I asked what-"I stopped as I heard her mumble something. "Could you repeat that?"

"I want a better sword." Erza asked, showcasing her sword.

"Erza please know that I do not understand what you are trying to tell me." I replied.

"It's dull." Erza stated. "It's not good when it's dull. Dull swords don't cut things."

"Just because I don't understand doesn't mean that you need to talk to me as if I was a child."

"You are a child." Our driver shouted back.

"And you're eavesdropping!" I shouted back

I ignored whatever came from his mouth and focused back on Erza. "We'll get you a new sword then, Erza. How about that?" I smiled. "We'll sell these ones and buy a sword for you."

"I'm going to get a new sword?" She asked, almost...eagerly. A part of me was waving a giant red flag.

"I did just explain this Erza." I replied with amusement. "Yes, you will get one-"

"Promise me." She interrupted, using my momentary shock to grab my hands and pull them towards her. "Promise me that you will get me a new sword."

"Okay, Okay…I'll get you a new sword." I relented instantly.

I watched as she settled back down, I didn't even notice her lean up towards me. There was a soft smile on her face and didn't know whether to be concerned or happy of her. A mere promise is what keeps her going and lets her enjoy something.

Huh...Everything I do reminds me of how I've gone from home. A part of me wished I could be so simple minded where I could forget all my worries.

Fuck...Now I'm crying.

This is going to be a long fucking journey.

**-=Grey Rights=-**

"Hey...Merlin."

"Mmm...I'm awake. Don't worry about me. I'll be down in a moment."

"You're not awake, Merlin. You're falling asleep again."

"It's not my fault I'm so tired." I yawned, finally getting up. "I had this strangest dream where I was lost and..."Right, That's not how Iskai's work.

"It's okay. We'll get this done and we can go to Fairy Tail." Erza replied. Her resolve is absolute. It was funny to see her so fired up for something.

"We?" I asked. I do not remember having this conversation with her. Titania is already showing her claws and she hasn't even joined the guild.

"You're coming with me, right?" Erza asked. Her child-like innocence showing up again. Very bi-polar this one. "I don't wanna go alone."

Now, how am I going to deal with this landmine?

"Let's go get that sword first and then we can talk about our next steps, Okay?" I asked getting a nod from her, her excitement already building up again.

"Thank you for riding in my carriage. If you have complaints about the lack of space or the bumpy ride, tell it to someone else." He said.

"At least say something, Red." I urged. "I doubt opportunities come around this often.

"Thank you." Erza bowed? Right, that's a thing. "It saved us a lot of time."

"Well Look at you." The man smirked. "The little flower is starting to blossom. At least one of you has manners."

"Are you sure?" I snapped back. "It seems like that includes you."

"Bah...Get out of here. I don't wanna see you any time soon." He snorted. "Make sure to tell your friends about me."

"Bye~" Both Erza and I waved as the carriage trotted off within the town, not even getting far before people were asking about his stock.

Speaking of said town, I couldn't help but notice how packed the market place was. Even as we left, there are people already bartering for the man's stock. There were even stalls for fresh food, raw food, baked food.

Can you tell that I'm hungry?

...And according to Erza's stomach, so was she.

First things First, We need to find someone who would buy these weapons.

The two of use searched the place, the voices of the various charismatic merchants and excitable customers reaching our ears. "You seem happy." I said to Erza, nudging her. "Much better than before."

She clammed up immediately, making me feel like that wasn't the right thing to say. "It's nice to be here. I haven't been in a marketplace like this in forever."

Right, with the whole tower of heaven thing. Gonna steer clear of that.

"Let's not worry about that now." I stated, wrapping my arm around her shoulder, steering clear of the blades. "Let's go find you some clothes and shoes."

Seriously, the fact that I can feel my feet is a miracle on it's own. I really need something to protect them before I lose them to attrition.

We barely took a step before someone grabbed our attention.

"WAIT RIGHT THERE." A voice called out. I tried to ignore it. It wasn't important as it was most likely not aimed at me.

"Umm...Merlin?" Erza asked. "Do you know her?"

She pointed to the panting woman that had skidded in front of us. Her blue locks stuck to her face as sweat dripped down.

"I was trying to call out to you." She bent over to rest her hands on her knees.

"And I was trying to get somewhere." I replied, feeling intrigued that this woman would chase after us. "What do you want?"

"Blunt...that's fine. " She muttered. "You're planning on selling those weapons, aren't you?.

I stiffened up slightly as I heard her words. "And if I do?" I asked.

"I would be willing to buy them for a fair price." The woman stated, a friendly smile on her exhausted face.

"Well if that's the case, I'd be more than happy to talk it out." I stated, happy that I don't need to look for a store.

"Well come with me, my stand is over here." The woman suggested, walking off.

The two of us followed her through the thick crowd. One part of me questioned how she could leave her stall unattended, assuming that she works alone, yet another part couldn't help but noticed the sway of-

"How long is this going to take?" Erza asked. I'm not sure if she's impatient or asking a question.

"Not sure but it shouldn't be that long. We've spent all day getting here, we can wait a little more." I replied, getting no response from her.

"Right here we are, welcome to Madam Red Cliffs Weapons stand." She stated, brandishing the little stand that she had. There weren't many weapons here, only small one handed ones that may be too heavy for me now but seem to be enough for a grown person. "Right now, only supporting a few sales but we're slowly getting there."

"Word of advice…" I started as I inspected a fairly large mace. "Saying that you only have a few sales only creates doubts about your product."

"Did you use to work in selling things?" The woman asked. "It sounds like you did."

"Yep, a while ago." I reminded myself from life before this, before tearing myself away from those memories. I do not want to focus on that right now.

"Ahh sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry. It's just-"

Huh...I was tearing up again. Seriously, I need to deal with the fact that...I'm never going home before It gets bad.

"Don't worry about it." Even Erza didn't believe me, with the way she grabbed my hand. She was on the verge of tears herself. "A word of advice, don't tell people about information that they don't need, like how long you've been working. How long have you been working by the way?"

"About a few weeks-"

"Wrong." I interrupted her. "You say 'I've been working long enough in these parts. Now let me introduce you to blah blah blah' You see what I mean?"

"Y-Yeah…" She stuttered. "Thanks I guess…? Now can we talk about those weapons."

"Oh yeah..." I completely forgot about them. I grabbed the badly wrapped bundle off of my back and passed off to her.

"Hmm…." She muttered a few words to herself that were too quiet for me to hear. "That's odd."

Erza tugged on my arm "This looks bad." She simply stated. I couldn't help but agree. This woman was thoroughly inspecting the weapons, a grimace growing her face more and more as she went through her process.

She pulled out a weird monocle looking thing that she had tucked into her clock. After putting over her eye and a flick of her wrist, a magic circle appeared.

It was...mesmerising. It was hard to take my eyes off of it, only doing so when my eyes started to feel like they were about to burn.

Seems like my symptoms are even affected by magic circles.

"It looks like I won't be able to buy it." The woman stated with a sigh. "There's-"

"Why not?" Erza demanded. "They look fine and you even said yourself that you-"

I laid a hand on Erza's shoulder, making her jump slightly. "Calm down, we can find another option. Plus, I didn't know you can be that loud." I laughed a little as her face burned up.

"They're not up to scratch." The woman stated, wrapping the weapons back up again before handing it over to me. "I can't afford to buy weapons that I cannot sell again."

"What about using them to get reforged?" I asked, making her shake her head again.

"Getting them reforged and selling them again would ultimately cost me more."

"I guess we've got to find that blacksmith." I stated, grabbing the weapons and fastening them to my back.

It was a bummer that I couldn't sell these off to her but no worries. We can find someone else, I hope they are gullible enough to buy them.

"Wait…" the woman called out. "Actually, don't worry. I hope to see you again."

"You sure there's nothing you want to tell us?" I asked, she definitely seemed to want to say something but instead just shook her head. "Alright, let's go Erza."

"Do you want me to carry them?" Erza asked as we walked. "They seem heavy."

"I got Erza." I replied.

"I'm very strong." She stated. "If it starts to hurt, I can take it off you."

"Don't worry about it." I said. "Let's find someone to take us to that blacksmith."

"Like who?" Erza asked. I merely smiled at her before turning away.

"You, sir." I shouted out above the loud marketplace, opting to distract myself from the mystery that was that woman. I pointed towards a bored looking man who was standing behind a counter.

"Yes? Do you need something?" He asked.

"Of course, that is why I hailed you. I was wondering where we could find a store to sell these weapons that we have in our possession."

"Okay...Um, check down the main road and take a left. You should see a large store with some smoke coming out of it...you know like a regular blacksmith."

"Of course, Of course." I nodded. "Because I know what a regular blacksmith looks like."

"Asshole." The man muttered as we walked off. Don't think he really meant to hide it 'cause I could hear it clearly.

"He was rude." I muttered just as loud, getting a glance from him. Though I doubt he would do anything to a kid, much less one who is in public. "No wonder his stall is empty."

"You want to say that again, you piece of shit?!" He cried out as I laughed, walking away with Erza in tow.

All I did was ask him a simple question.

"My heart, I can't bear it no longer. Your insults are too powerful." I cried out much to his anger.

Erza tugged on my arm. "You're not 'a piece of shit'.."

"Thanks, Erza. You're a real lifesaver." I replied with a laugh at her bluntness. "On we go."

"Let's go." Erza stated. I felt some sort of determination from her. "I'll look for the shop."

I couldn't help but smile, hopefully that'll take her mind off of whatever she's thinking about. Also it'll be much easier to find the shop we need if she looks for it, as much as I played Skyrim, who knows how much different a blacksmith shop could be?

"Merlin...over here." She shouted from a pretty...run down street.

"And here's the first red flag." I muttered to myself as I followed her.

The shop she was suggesting was one with some weird writing above it. It looked to be washed off from rain, considering the absence of people down this road. I don't blame the severe lack of maintenance.

"Look, Look. I found it. " Erza practically jumped in place. "I saw someone come in, so it must be open."

"How do you know this is- and you're just going to walk inside. Okay." I muttered the last part to myself, watching as the door creaked as Erza stepped in. "And there's the second flag."

I noticed the chime of the bell above us as I entered the store. It was much different than I expected outside. The store had weapons and armours displaced all around the place, from the daggers that were propped up on shelves to the chainmail on display. The smell of something burning wafted in the background air.

Does this count as the third flag? I'm not really sure

Erza was immediately hooked. At first, I thought it was normal for her and I was stringing her along with that but when you think about it. Children, in most settings, should not be so fascinated by weapons and armours. There are some exceptions like being the child of a blacksmith but for someone like Erza, I'm not sure.

Maybe it's the fucked up torture that a happy-go-lucky show that Fairy Tail glossed over that caused her to be like this. Maybe it's a coping mechanism.

That's a character arc I cannot wait for…

Can you see that sarcasm in that one?

"Erza this seems really skety…" I stated, she practically ignored me.

"Hello. Is anyone there?" Erza called out.

"Yes...call out the owner of the only working shop in the abandoned street." It makes the amount of people in the marketplace make much more sense. This street must have been a shopping market.

But what's with the lack of people here?

"Hello, are you just gonna stare or are you going to buy something?" A voice called out.

"Give us a...moment." I called back, looking at the hyperactive Erza that seemed to zip around the store. She's slowly starting to remind me of another red haired weapon enthusiast.

I'm sure what was going on but she didn't have the smile that she had on the carriage, she was...as I said before, I'm not sure. Her eyes glossed over a weapon before she muttered to herself and moved on.

I guess she's trying to find that perfect weapon.

I couldn't help but stiffen up as I just noticed that the voice did not come from Erza. I turned to see who ever called out to me.

The voice who called out to us belonged to the man that stood behind the counter. He looked- Well, How can I say this without being rude? Ahh, who cares? Right...Imagine your stereotypical buff blacksmith. Now add a belly that seems to have its own jiggle physics and the hair of a 64-year-old man.

With the amount of effort that goes into making weapons, you would think that this man burns off his fat quickly enough.

"We're looking to buy some weapons from here and sell what we've collected," Erza exclaimed, from where she was, destroying the silence that had permeated from my response.

When she got close, I couldn't help but notice that I haven't seen her this excited before, granted I only knew her for about two days. The weapons definitely bring it out. But honestly, a weird coincidence when considering how her magic is essentially storage and she uses it. A matter of fact, it can't be a coincidence, can it?

Does the magic impact the user, making Erza desire for things to put in her space or anything at all really? Or does the user effect the magic, this weird fascination for weapons springing forth the magic that utilizes this desire?

Maybe I should write this shit down so I don't forget. Might even help with my own problem.

"What she said…" I replied, taking off the large bundle of weapons on my back. "Ahh...that feels good."

"You sound like an old man." The blacksmith replied, rolling his eyes as his propped up arm supported his head.

"And you-" I had to bite down on my tongue. I wanted to say how much of a hypocrite his bald spot was making him but we need the money, even if this place was in the middle of a ghost town. I can hold back for now. "Your small talk is trash."

...Now, I can hold back.

"Says that one whose head can barely reach the counter." The man quipped back.

"Ehh…" I shrugged. "At least, I'm not the one who's insulting a 13-year-old."

It's too late for me now. I'm in the deep end. Hopefully, we can rely on Erza's cuteness to give the deal we need.

"Why are you here anyway?" The man asked, I wasn't sure what was going through his head at the moment but he seemed concerned. "You don't look like people with alot of money and there are other stores out there. I shut this store down a long time ago."

"Why is it open? And, better yet, why is your stock still up?" I asked, taking a look at the various items on display.

"A sort of...momento." The man hesitated. "Now, answer my question."

"Our weapons aren't as good as that blue haired chick wants them to be." I stated. "It's not my fault if my sword can't perform as well as expected."

"Right…" I could tell he was slightly uncomfortable. "I don't mind buying them."

"You don't?" Erza called, only to duck back as the man stared at her.

"No I don't." The man stated. "She's a shy one alright. What's her story?"

"Ehhh...It's kinda fucked up and I really don't have the authorization to tell you." I shrugged my shoulders as she tried to hide. Wasn't working well to be honest.

"I get it, we all have her stories." I stated. "Now, if you don't mind me asking, why don't you mind buying our stock?"

"I've been in your situation before, where there's no-one to turn to and the whole word is out to get you." The man sighed. "It was then when the owner of this store helped me and I wanted to do by him and help others."

"That's deep man…" I didn't have anything else to say. "Real deep."

"Sorry about that…" The man laughed awkwardly. "Anyway, I can easily reforge the items you have so it's fine by me. Hell, I can do it now since the forge is still roaring to go. It's just me paying for more metal."

"Finally a break in this fucked-

"Merlin…" Erza interrupted me. "I don't like these weapons."

…

…

...I can't get a break here.

"You sure?" I asked, hiding my inner (Totally justified) despair. "We can go look for another store if you want but I doubt anyone would sell any weapons if there's a blacksmith here."

She shook her head. "No...somethings wrong. I'm not really sure."

How many flags are we on now?

I get you, girl. I guess we're gonna find something for her somewhere else. Hopefully, we can find something, it would make my life much easier if she's in a better mood.

"Looks like we're just selling today but I don't see what's wrong with it." I stated, weighing in my own thoughts. "They all seem fine to me."

"I know but…"

"Listen to the kid, he knows he's talking about." Sir jiggle physics interrupted her. "Everything here has been beautifully hand-crafted by yours truly."

"Yes but there was this woman-"

"Blue hair, way too much energy." The man stated, getting a nod from us. "I thought as much, she's been trying to get me to shut down for ages."

Is that what she wanted? To get him to shut down, maybe she wanted to have full control of the weapons business in this town. I get it with the amount of people around and the need for protection but I doubt that she'll get a whole store to shut down.

"It's just that she told me that my weapons aren't good enough and that-"

"And what would she know?!" The man snapped. "I spent ages making these weapons and will not tolerate a child telling me about my stock."

I couldn't help but notice how this man lost his cool, so suddenly as well. This woman must be really getting on his nerves if a nice guy like him snapped like that. Either that or he doesn't like someone pointing out his work.

"I'm s-sorry…but when's the...last time you took care of these weapons?" Erza's voice became quieter and quieter as she spoke. "They're not...in good shape."

"And what would she even know about weapons?!" The man's voice seemed to have a certain edge to it. "There's no way that she would be a better blacksmith than I!"

"I don't know...but…-"

"Exactly!" He interrupted her half-way through. "You don't know. How the hell can you tell me that my weapons aren't in the best shape they could be in?"

"It's just that...my weapons are the same as yours and...I was told that mine weren't looked after properly." Erza stated.

Feeling left out and intrigued, I grabbed the closest weapon beside me and compared it to one of the weapons that I had bundled up. There was no way that the weapons that this man were selling were the best quality, they weren't even straight. I could even see the slight rust that trickled on both weapons from the oxidation and lack of maintenance.

"Holy shit…" I couldn't help but voice aloud.

"Prove it then." The man stated, Seeming smug. "Prove to me that my weapons are what you say you are and I'll buy all your stock for 3 times the price."

3 times the price?! That's way too good to be true. There's no way he would do that.

Flag galore over here.

"Merlin, can you show him the weapons?" She seemed really excited. Either she has some weird sort of pride or she wants more money. I doubt I would be able to worm my way out of this one.

"Can we leave instead?" I asked. There were too many flags for me to handle. A matter of fact, I should have dragged her out as soon as possible.

"The weapons...now." She practically growled. A flash of pain flaring up in me indicating her lack of control rearing it painful head.

Reluctantly, I did as she said and placed the weapons Erza and I collected upon his counter. I noticed that she kept the sword that had almost killed my important parts with her. I don't care, she can do what she wants.

"The stage is all your Erza." I called out, taking a careful step back.

I wanted to stop her but the fact that these are her weapons and the fact that she could kill me at any time stopped me. Hell, if I tried to stop her, who's to say that she won't retaliate? She already showed she would direct her anger towards me.

"If you look here, you can see how the weapon has been bent slightly and some parts have been chipped off...it's very similar to how my weapons look and feel." Erza started.

I keep repeating myself but every new thing this girl does seems weird...not bad weird but just weird.

She was teaching the man what the differences between a good quality sword and a bad one were, unintentionally showing herself how to maintain a sword and what to look for in a sword. I knew she was smart but I didn't know that she was this talented.

The man himself just watched with a careful eye. It seemed my thoughts about him were unjustified as he shut his large mouth and listened to every word that she said.

"Now...how much would all this cost?" She asked, waiting as the man examined each and every one.

As much as they talked, the man seemed new to all of this. It was as if he hadn't been a shop owner for long.

"Right." The man simply said. "This would usually cost about 14500 jewels."

"But…" I asked. Watching as the man took the weapons over the counter. "You said three times the price."

"You see these weapons are the same as mine and this little young lady has just taught me how to make them even better. Why would I allow such a thing to go to waste?" The man smiled, his face sporting a Cheshire grin.

"But those are-"

"But what? Why would I buy these weapons?" The man's smile etched into a manic smirk. "I already have them and I doubt there's anyone that can take them off of me."

"Now, you wait a fucking second!" I snarled. "Those weapons are the lifeline of us getting back on our feet, if you take that away from me, I swear to god, I will find everything you have ever owned and loved and destroy whilst you watch."

"You sound like the last three people I've taken stuff off." The man laughed. "The day one of you people takes your revenge, I would already have enough money that I'll bounce right back. It doesn't' even matter if I tell you, nobody will believe you."

"We're not even the first-" I immediately stopped as I tried to force food back out of where it came from. I fell to my knees as my legs became weak. The feeling was unbearable as usual.

Beyond the feeling of overpowering discomfort, I heard the rattle of the weapons around us. Without a doubt in my mind, I knew it was Red. Said Red-head had her eye locked upon the unknowing blacksmith.

"Oi, what the hell's wrong with you?" Even under the snark in his voice, there was some sort of concern. Nice to know the man wasn't just a 2-dimensional asshole. "Don't be vomiting on my floor."

"Erza-Hmph…" I tried to call out to her but every syllable caused my stomach to flip around. As much I don't want this man to take our items, I would prefer for us not to make any trouble for anyone, at least while there aren't any rune knights around.

Even if he totally deserved it.

"Give them back…" The glowing red-head demanded.

The blacksmith behind the counter had sweat pouring down his skin as the various points of his own weapons stared at him. Even our own started to break from the cluster that they had been bundled up against to join the ones in the air.

Whilst this was going on, My own vision was starting to get hazy. I was dry heaving beside Erza but, with the sounds of metal hitting metal, she couldn't hear me. I felt some weird karma hitting me as I thought about how we got here. Apart from me wanted to apologise to this man in hopes that this would all go away but another part wanted me to get Erza to hurry up and impale this man like a pincushion.

I crawled as quickly as I could, which isn't saying much when each body part felt as if they had been twisted in the wrong direction every time I moved.

A dagger floated past my face, causing me to go cross-eyed for a second. I stared at the blade (blades?) before noticing the taste of blood.

...That is bad.

It is _very bad_.

Did she kill this man? There are people right outside and you killed a man.

Even as I crawled, I feel so fucking pissed off if a pre-teen with barely controlled magic causes me to write on the floor in pain, what would happen if I was meeting a much more powerful mage? Aren't Isekai protagonists (Isekaiees?) supposed to get cheat powers? Where the fuck is mine?

I grabbed Erza's ankle, even from the lack of vision, I saw the surprise in her. Not really in her, more like in her swords as they jerked. I immediately ignored that as the wave of relief hit my body, causing me to sigh.

I felt Erza's strong hands man-handle me back into a standing position, which I was definitely not ready for as I fell onto my back. I simply held up a thumbs up as I took deep breaths.

"Give...me...a..second." I panted as Erza crouched beside me, not caring as the weapons dropped unceremoniously around us.

"Are you ok?" Her tone of voice was as emotionless as ever but even I can tell there was concern behind it.

"Do I look ok?" I replied.

"No."

"You have your answer."

I stared at the sight of the store, it reminded me of a battlefield. It was as if a war had been raging and the weapons were the remains. There were swords stabbed on all four walls with most heading towards where the man was standing. His body was surrounded by swords but luckily enough he was still alive.

Erza's gaze hardened as she turned her head to the man. His own gaze flickering between both of us. "I-I'm s-sorry. P-Please just don't-"

I feel really tired all of a-

**-=Grey Rights=-**

Why is everything wet? And why does my head hurt? So many questions, no apparent answers.

I had to force myself into getting up, only able to get onto my hands and knees. The first thing I noticed was a lot of blood. I look around so see that the blood was around me, not coming from the broken down and sword infested store.

Seriously, it was as if someone came in, throwing swords like a discount Gilgamesh.

Remembering what happened, what I can guess is that I passed out, meaning that Erza released her magic again. The man did not get killed by her, he was...chased out I believe. There was a trail of weapons that had led out of the store.

Alright...it's not the best situation but it could be worse.

Using up all of what little energy I had left, I got up using the wall and shifted most of my body weight upon it. The lack of blood really showed itself as I saw the world shift around in my peripherals.

Either I just got motion sickness or I'm just really sick, either way, I'm going to vomit all over this store.

I rested my back on the wall as everything started to slow down. There was definitely something wrong with me, a small part of me thought it was just a fluke even if most of it knew it couldn't be a coincidence. There's no reason for it to be a coincidence. Everything lines up to the fact that I feel pain when I'm near magic.

In a world full of magic, I'm fucked.

But I need priorities and the first one is finding Erza. She's the starting point to all of this. Get to a guild, do quests, get power, get money, profit. Then I can do whatever the fuck I want.

First things first, I'm going to need to get out of this store. Hopefully, I will be able to find Erza before she destroys everything or gets into trouble...or both actually.

But first, why not take what I came here for anyway?

**-=Grey Rights=-**

**So that's the next chapter, life has been hell. Even with the little time off I'm given, I don't have the energy to write.**

**6k words this one. Hopefully it shows the style I'm going for with this story.**

**Quick question to those who read my DxD fic, Do you want me to revamp it? Who knows, it may give me the inspiration to continue it, right now, it's trash tier.**

**Discord: yYQ8Yqe**

**Just whack that in and you're good to g**


	4. Chapter 4

I had woken up long ago, my mouth filling up with blood was the first thing I registered. This condition was getting serious, dangerously so. The fact that blood is coming out is already something I should have taken more seriously. I'm probably already at the stage of internal damage, what happens next?

I sure hope I don't find out but at this point, anything can happen. I have no direction and no leads on how to deal with this. Though that can be put on hold for a small while, even if I just said that I should take this seriously.

My first instinct was to go after Erza. I debated with myself for the longest time before dropping that idea, I'd only be a hindrance and Erza's got this. Getting anywhere near might just set her off even more.

Instead, I opted to take a look around the store, well the safe parts anyway. There was a room behind the main store. From what I could see, this was most likely where the actual blacksmithing would happen. There was this large unlit forge at the back, a quick touch had revealed that it hadn't been lit for some time from the lack of heat. Not weird considering the circumstance we're in, but it was still somewhat unusual to me. Many other weapons were back here, though they were in the same state as the other weapons so they were a no go. It's not like I could carry them anymore- Wait, let me rephrase that, I don't want to carry any more. Erza's the pack mule now, whether she likes it or not. With that in mind, I left the room feeling as if there was nothing left for me there so I headed down the only door left.

It was a bedroom, a very scarce one at that. A simple bedroll with a few bits of eaten food and with the sorry state my body was in, some of which looked delicious to me, even with the rats scurrying around. Hunger was definitely prevalent but I was able to knock it down a few notches. Even if it hissed back with stomach pains.

There was a bag in the corner, something out of place with how it looked much more kept than anything else. My RPG experience practically demanded that I was to open it so who was I to deny it?

Opening the bag had only shown that there were a few pieces of clothing, basic stuff like shirts and pants, too big for me to even remotely try on; Some essentials, weirdly he had stuff like bars of soap; and a large stack of money, I knew it was money when I noticed that wads bills inside, the largest ones being around 1000's. This all looked like stuff that one would pack away, I wouldn't be surprised if that blacksmith would use this to run away.

This question to that would be why though?

Seems like we found the money we need, not the way I wanted but beggars can't be choosers. But all it cost was a murderhobo chasing a blacksmith that had broken his stereotypes. Never thought I would ever be in this situation…

I feel like I'll be saying that a lot.

There was something else I noticed underneath all of the stuff in the bag, it was faint. Unnoticeable until I had moved away from the bedroll. I didn't know how to describe it but something was there. Something...very similar to what I felt around Erza.

Magic.

There was something inside the bedroll, I reached into it and pulled out a decently sized box. As long as my forearm and as thick my fist. As I held it, I felt something, like a tingling in my hands, a sort of pins and needles kind of thing. It was right on the edge of my...magic sensors...Yes, I am now calling it that.

It was faint, like a quiet drizzle of rain, however as my hands glided over the side of the box, it seemed to get stronger and weaker, depending on where they were located. It seemed like I was getting the hang of this...or whatever it was is weak enough to not to hurt me.

Seeing an opportunity, at least something, I immediately fit it into the bag and closed it up. Can't really do much about the clothes but everything else is a plus. I might just give away the clothing or something, I'm not sure as of the moment but, as of right now, I need to really find Erza. As much as I'm finding excuses to put it off, I can't wait any longer.

**-=Grey Rights=-**

"Erza…" I cried out. "Where are you?" Still, no response, not that I was expecting anything. I had followed the trail of swords to here, towards the more desolate area of the town. With the way this whole area has been rubbing me, I did not want to be here, I _really _don't. Apart of me wanted to run far away from where Erza wouldn't be able to find me, maybe start adventuring to the other countries early. But still, the guilt would kill me if I left a little girl here all alone.

A mentally unstable girl with an arsenal of weapons…

That sounds worse.

Funnily enough, the fact that the inhabitants of this village weren't here already is a sign of concern. A large fucking concern because this is really creepy. It doesn't help that the sun was setting soon so all the long shadows looked like large looming people. Had it not been for my inner pride, I would have let out the many screams befitting a child by now, damn to hell for all those who see.

Luckily for me, there were weapons sticking out of the ground, acting as if they were guiding me to her. This whole thing is making me rethink my whole plan over and over again, giving me something to think about than the dark road my thoughts were heading. Though any serious planning will be for some other time when I've finally got some food in me. That would probably be the best time to look over everything that's going on in my life.

My eyes caught something, a small glimmer of light reflecting the dipping sun. There was a sword that was stabbed in the ground, unlike the others around me, yet this was special, not in its design or anything like that but with the way that it was stained. Not only did it have rust that had caught that blue-haired woman's eye but by blood. Blood that was still dripping down its side. From the way it was still travelling down the side length of the blade, it must have been very recent.

I could easily see how this could have escalated, especially with the blood that had made a barely visible trail. Erza could have gotten angrier, maybe by his words or her own thoughts but she could have-

"Nobody's dead…" I muttered to myself, there was not nearly enough blood to suggest that someone could be dead but my dark mind had immediately snapped to that conclusion."She must have just nicked him…"

My head snapped to the side, I felt a small amount of numbness come from towards where I was running, it was pushing my body away like a magnet with the way my legs just refused to move for a second. There was a large clap, the sound of crackling and a large amount of smoke did wonders for my current state of anxiety. There was enough lightning that it wouldn't look out of place in a thunderstorm, enough to light up the area and to be seen around the village, bright enough to blind me for a second.

I pushed past this feeling and ran towards it, feeling not that much better as I tried to ignore it. That was practically a beacon, showing me where Erza is and unless Erza suddenly learned lightning magic…

"Someone else is using magic." I finished aloud, coming to that realisation.

"Erza?! There you-" I cried out, heading around the corner where the lightning erupted. There large destroyed pieces of wood that had scorch marks on them. Even across the walls, large cracks and a few swords here and there. The sound of dripping was the only thing my ears would pick up as I steered at the frozen girl. Here eye staring me up and down in disbelief.

"You're alive!" Erza cried out, standing up to show the blood-soaked jumper she was wearing. There were a few scorch marks around the arm of the jumper, the other had been ripped off.

"Of course, I'm alive." I replied, feeling a little scared and confused. "I'm right here, aren't I?"

"You fell over..." Erza muttered, unable to stare at my eyes. "...you were bleeding, I thought I killed you."

"Yeah...I couldn't really help it." I chuckled, feeling pretty awkward. From her perspective, I could see how she came to that realisation. Not sure the best way is to demand holy vengeance against someone but we'll work on that.

"I-I'm sorry." Erza whimpered out. "I didn't mean to hurt you, I was just angry and that man-"

"Speaking of him, where is he?" I asked, noticing how Erza's body immediately stiffened. "Erza, just tell me."

With the blood that was on the sword, Erza's expression and the hesitation, that dark thought was rearing its ugly head again.

"No-it's just I-" Her breath was getting faster, faster than normal and it was much heavier than usual. Her eye darting around, unable to look me in the eye as she stuttered. The hem of the jumper was assaulted by her hands as she fidgeted, her feet shifting from one to the other under my glare.

"Where is he?" I spat out, I don't have the energy for this and neither does she. "Just tell me, I'm not going to be mad."

"He's...dead." Erza whispered, her body shaking. "I-I killed him."

I'm...actually I don't know what to think. Many different words sped through my mind and many more were just on the tip of my tongue, ready to be spoken. 'Why?' 'Are you okay?' Holy Shit!' 'Am I next'. Many different emotions were laced in the words I held within, each one is different yet none of them the one I wanted to say.

I bit down my response. I knew whatever I was going to say was going to just make her feel even worse. My mind's already creating the mental image of the man's skewered torso with weapons sticking out of them. His face stuck, showing only fear and pain as the tears dried upon his cheeks. His voice dying down as he tried to beg for mercy. The image of Erza standing over him with an expression full of fury as blades rotated around her.

She broke me out of my own dark imagination as I felt her wrap her arms around me with the tears of her broken emotions dripping down on her face and onto my chest. I wrapped my own arms around her as my heart was beating and body shivering.

I started to imagine myself looking up at Erza, my body flaring up in pain as the magic assaulted me. Her blades pointed towards me, shooting down to cut through my limbs with nothing but the feeling of numbness as my mind blanked from all the stimuli, everything had shown me that she was nothing but out of control, that I should leave her and run away as fast as I could.

"Erza-" she stopped whatever words I was going to say by stepping for a hug.

"I-I-I didn't want to kill him-Rob always told me that all lives are special and everyone deserves a chance...b-but then I saw you on the floor and… I-I-I couldn't help myself." Erza Interrupted, her voice quiet on my chest. "H-He was scared and begged me to not kill him, but all I could see was you, lying on the floor."

"I'm sorry, Erza." I replied, feeling bile rise up in my throat. "I wish I could have helped somehow, I didn't want to put you in this situation."

"I know, I know, I know." Erza muttered back, her voice quiet. "But I couldn't stop myself, I saw his magic and thought about how it hurts you and… and…"

"I'll find a solution Erza, there's a big world out there and I'm sure we can find something." I replied, even if I was trying to convince Erza, I felt as if I was talking to myself as well. "You just focus on being the best Fairy Tail wizard you can be, just like Rob said you would and I take care of the rest."

"But I-I don't want to be a wizard anymore. I don't want to go to Fairy Tail. I wish I never knew Rob. I wish that the Tower never existed." Her tears were freely dropping down her face. "I want to go home, I want to go back to the Orphanage. I want to finish sewing that dress. I want to bake a massive cake for everyone in the village. I want my friends again-" She trailed off, tucking her head in.

"Erza..." I said, concerned at her tone. "I know how it feels but there's nothing we can't do anything about it-"

"I-I don't wanna do anything." Erza exclaimed, her words pouring out faster and faster. "I-I-I'll even go back to the tower, I-ll do anything...just don't-"

"Don't even joke about that, Erza!" I snarled, grabbing her by the arms. Her eye looking up to my own in teary surprise. "You're free, you have magic, you have the power to do something with your life and you want to fucking throw it away?! People would kill for this kind of thing, don't you dare ever think like that, you fucking piece of shit."

Erza's eye had gotten even bigger, her mouth trembling at my words as she flinched at the volume. "B-B-Back then, I used to ask Rob all the time when we would get out, when would he finally free us and he always told us that we'd be free one day. I'm finally out now and all-all I want to do is go back, back to have everything was. It was so much easier back there."

"It's too late for that now!" I exclaimed, interrupting her. "All you can do is look the fucking future, don't you dare even think about going back. So what if it was easier? Life will find some fucking way to fit its oversized shaft of 'fuck you' up your ass somehow, just be lucky you have someone to help you deal with it."

"I-I don't want to deal with it." Erza snapped back, her eye inches away from my own. "I don't want my magic, if all it does is hurt people. I-I don't want to do anything."

"Well tough luck.." I replied, my voice taking its own edge. "I'm not letting you do nothing, not when you have the power to do anything. I'm going to make you the best fucking wizard in your guild, whether you like it or not."

There was something going on in the background, I could tell with how close we were. Her eye never left my own, as if we locked in this battle of dominance. There were freshly made tears dripping down her face she finally blinked. "...Okay…"

"Sorry, I couldn't hear that," I stated, my arms crossed over my chest as I stared down at her.

"Okay," Erza repeated, louder this time.

"I'm not sure you even believe that yourself!" I said, my voice getting louder. "I want to hear it."

"Okay!" Erza repeated for the third time, her eye taking on a slight steel.

"'Okay' what?" I asked.

"Okay, I'll be a wizard." Erza continued, her whole body language becoming much more confident than she was before.

"You want to be a wizard?" I asked, getting a nod from her.

"Yes, I want to be a wizard." Her voice back to what it was before- No, even more, powerful than anything I've seen with her.

"Then let me see your war face." I replied, getting a look of confusion from her. I admit I may be having a little fun with this. "You got a war face, 'AHHHH' that's a war face. Not let me see your war face."

"...ahhh?" Her tone only showed her struggle to comprehend what I was saying.

"Bullshit, now let me see your war face!" I repeated, louder this time.

"AHHHH" She shouted louder this time, putting her whole body into it.

"You need to work on that if you're going to be a wizard, Erza!" I replied, seeing her downcast expression. "But much better than I expected you could do."

"Thank you!" The honest smile that she sent somehow washed away any worries about her. It's not the best thing right now but it's enough.

"No problem." I replied, my eye darting from her and the draining body behind her. I don't think he noticed but I'd rather not have any dark thoughts re-emerge from Erza, especially how gory it looked. "Let's head out, I'd rather not be here any longer."

"Okay…" She muttered, her voice quiet. I guess she knew what I was thinking about. Got to give her credit, smarter than I thought she would be. But then again, being less than 150 centimetres would do that to you.

"Right, let's just focus on getting some clothes and some proper food…" Her eye immediately snapped up to meet mine, determined as ever, even as her tongue darted out her lips. "I am freezing, hungry, tired and many more that I can't be asked to explain."

Erza's sympathy was funny, especially when she was feeling the same, maybe even worse. Chuckling to myself, I simply left the alleyway, not sparing a glance at the bloodstain that was the blacksmith. There was a bounce to Erza's step, almost to the point of skipping. You wouldn't know that she just killed a man if you watched.

Well, except for the blood, the scorch marks, the dirt- You see where I'm going with this?

"Can we get food first?" Erza asked, her eye practically begging me as she walked by my side. "Please~?"

"Don't try that on me." I replied, huff in annoyance. "I had three baby cousins, I've seen that shit so many times that whatever you do won't affect me."

"...You did?" Erza asked, she was hesitant I think. Not sure why but I could tell she was. She opened and closed her mouth yet opted to not say anything. Weird but I'm sure her emotions are at a whole time high.

"Yep." I replied, not really wanting to go into that situation again. Don't want to think about home, it'll just make me sad, pissed off and a whole lot more emotions that I prefer not to feel. I'm just going to leave it as it is and think about it another time.

I felt Erza tug on my hand, her other hand stretching to the distance as she pointed to a soft orange glow. "Do you see that?" She asked, her voice quiet as she stared at it.

"Kind of…" I muttered, something was there. I could see something in the glow, it kind of flickered in the distance as I tried to focus on it. Not only that but I could faint rumble as if an earthquake was happening.

"They're people!" Erza exclaimed, her eye already making out what it was. I had a hard time seeing what they were but was able to see it soon after. I was going to chalk it up to magic bullshit and leave it at that.

"So they are but why are they here?" I questioned aloud. Why are they arriving- Was it the lightning? It's got to be, no way anyone in the area wouldn't be able to see or hear that. But if they are coming now, why weren't they already in this area? Do they only come to this abandoned part in engines? And why? Too many questions and not enough answers.

I didn't have the energy to run, both physically and mentally. The lack of substance really hitting me harder now than ever as I stared down those approaching people. Erza's head snapped from me and that light, her mind indecisive and clearly looking for a solution.

I merely waited there, they would eventually find us, especially when we needed their services. They came in close, each one holding some sort of weapon. Not ones that Erza had but those you could find commonly find in a household. Things like knives, rakes, brooms. To be honest, not sure what many of them are going to do if that lightning was serious but props to them for going out of their way to protect themselves.

They immediately stod before the two of us, I could tell that there was some sort of coordination to this. They planned this or at least done this before. It was definitely disturbing. If I played this right, I could make this work in our favour. Hopefully, the benefit of being a kid will finally rear its tiny head.

Erza's eyes darted around those that stood before us, dilating as her breathing became more erratic. She was muttering something to herself but it was so fast and quiet that I couldn't hear what she was saying. Her whole body was trembling slightly, enough so that I started to feel kind of scared.

I pinched her side, luckily enough, she snapped out of it. Her eye looked up at me in confusion. I shrugged before turning to the crowd before us, someone from the crowd appeared-

"You bitch!" I screamed, her smooth stride faltered at the volume of my words. "You set us up!"

Her blue hair flowed in the wind as she crouched down to meet us, eye to eye. "I apologize for anything that may have happened to you." She started, drinking in our unkempt forms. "The thought that you two would get hurt had never crossed my mind, I came here as soon as I heard the lightning."

"Bullshit!" I replied. Her expression didn't falter but I could tell that some of the men and women were staring at me in confusion, lowering their weapons ever so slightly. "That man was crazy."

"He was, wasn't he?" The woman replied, her agreement didn't exactly help my uneasiness, in fact it only just made me even more uncomfortable. "Please understand that he was not cut from the same cloth as we were. May I have your names, little ones?"

"Nope." I stated, standing my ground. "Not on your life."

"That's...fair, I guess." She replied, her mouth twitching ever so slightly. "May I ask why you are here at least? It would mean the world to me."

Why would she care? Like she cares. And how did these people come here so quickly? There's no way that they weren't prepared. But what were they prepared for?

"Yeah…" I muttered to myself. From the outside perspective, I looked to be hesitant but, internally, I was just thinking of a backstory. Luckily enough, I didn't need to think about much. "There was this huge, like really big huge, demon nine-tailed fox that was released into the village by this man in an orange mask, pretty cool by the way, might get one myself. It was scary so I grabbed my sister and ran away as it was burning."

Short and precise, nothing for them to call me out on nor for them to find any discrepancies with anything I may say later on.

As I gestured to Erza, I saw her downcast expression. Something was definitely eating her up inside, just add it to the list of problems I already have to deal with.

"There's no reason to explain anymore." She replied, sending a small smile as she stared down at me, her hand ever so slightly touching my hair. I allowed it, even if it was sending shivers down my spine. "We understand."

"Excuse me?" I questioned, getting a few looks from those around me. Their own eyes looking down at the two of us in some sort of pity. I would say I understand but I am confused as hell. "Is there some sort of inside joke I don't understand?"

"No joke. I'm merely saying that those around you understand your anger, your frustration, your hopelessness." The woman replied, her voice is getting louder and louder, addressing the people around her.

"And...it's only growing…" I muttered, finding this whole situation confusing. Erza's hand found itself wrapped around my own, her strength shown as she clenched hard, almost hiding how it twitched every so often.

"I would love to find out what happened but I fear that you are not up to the task." She said, gesturing to our bloody clothes and dirty bodies. "Could you tell me where you last saw the blacksmith? It would mean a lot if we were able to...help him."

"That's going to be a problem." I chuckled slightly at her frown. "I killed him a while back."

If they weren't before, everyone's eyes snapped towards me. Even Erza, who's eyes widened in shock, turned to me. Their weapons raised again, out of fear or something else I'm not sure but I could tell they were anxious.

I'd rather get it out in the open on my terms than allow them to come to their own conclusions. The fact that the man was dead was plain to see and I would be severely disappointed if they couldn't guess it was us.

"I'm sorry…" she replied, her voice quiet as she spoke to us. "...I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"That's fine..." I pointed down the road, one that we came from. "...The blacksmith's body is that way, it won't be that hard to find."

"We thank you." The woman stated, standing up. "Please, get yourself cleaned up and some food and we may talk soon, if that's fine with you?"

"Yeah...Yeah..." I replied. I doubt we'll get a choice anyway.

I watched as she walked off, those around us following her sending us encouraging words and looks of pity. I don't care what they do. It isn't my problem. The only thing going through my mind is why they haven't done anything yet and only reacting now.

"Why?" Erza asked, her voice quieter than I would usually like it to be. "Why did you-"

"Not now, Red. Let me handle it, just don't leave my side." I replied, looking down at her attentive eye. "These people are an enigma and I'd prefer to deal with it when I'm not running on fumes."

**-=Grey Rights=-**

"Hello, welcome. How can I help you-" The store clerk stopped in the middle of her sentence as she laid her eyes upon our soaked clothing. "My god."

"Yeah. Yeah. Just get all your questions out of the way. I'm tired as fuck." I muttered, my eyes trailing up and down the rows and rows of clothing, my body finally registering the cold as if it just noticed what I was wearing. You don't know how happy I am to finally get some clothes.

"Well…" The clerk stumbled over her words as I walked past, Erza looking at various clothing of her own beside me with a wide beady eye. "Just ask and I'll be happy to help."

"Cool, I've found something anyway." I muttered, grabbing an already full set of clothing. It wasn't hard as there wasn't much detail about them anyway. I just chose a full set of black clothing since I did not have the energy to deal with trying to find the little fashion sense that I had.

I had to stifle a slight laugh as Erza struggled to carry everything she picked out, bumping into other sets without even noticing. Still, she kept grabbing more and more as she walked by something she liked.

I simply moved into a changing room within the store as she did whatever she wanted, hoping to obtain clothes quickly and leave. Not wanting to deal with anything else. Erza had all but dragged me along to the store that she had pointed out. I merely allowed her to do whatever she wanted as my feet were forced to keep up with her.

Checking myself over, I noticed how unnaturally...different I was. Again I stared at the unnatural face I now had. The previously brown eyes that now glowed blue. The rounded face that didn't show anything else than the childlike features I had. The dark black hair, not sure what shade it is but I know it's darker than I've ever seen. My lighter skin, still darker than what most people I've seen so far have. Instead of black, I look more mixed race.

It's unnerving to look at. Every time I look at it, it just makes me...uncomfortable. Kind of like how you notice if your room has been re-arranged. There's something that screams at you that it isn't right.

And it's not going away.

The fact that I'm much shorter makes it even worse, I never really care how tall I was but now it's very annoying to look up at people.

"Are you presentable in there?" She called out, her voice bubbly and anxious all at the same time. "I have a few things that you could try on."

"Didn't I say I already had something?" I muttered to myself, I could see her feet underneath still waiting for me. "Let me try this on first-"

The door was opened to reveal the worker, a beautiful brunette that came in holding many different clothes in her hand. Her smooth skin reminds me of my own, only making me unable to forget about my own circumstance.

"I was thinking that you could try something like this or maybe in another colour. Ohhh, maybe even something that is a little short but still protects you as much." So much energy wasted on you. Please give me some, I need it.

I looked at the clothing in her hand, the bright colours staring at me as I was unable to turn away. There was one problem...

"These are dresses." I deadpanned, hand meeting my face. "Every single one of them."

"I know that dresses aren't really that practical, especially when you're going to be travelling like your sister said you are, beautiful girl, by the way, that's why I got these smaller ones so they won't be in the way and you could always wear something underneath." Erza's my sister now. Whatever.

"Ahh yes but you see, I'm not particularly fond of dresses. I'm not a cross-dresser."

"What do you mean you're 'not a cross-dresser'?" The woman was clearly offended. "A girl as cute as you would look beautiful in this dress."

"Ah yes...that's the problem." I resisted the urge to facepalm when she didn't catch on. "I'm not a girl."

"Blasphemy." She exclaimed, almost dropping the clothing in shock. "But you look-"

"That's-Wait let me check. No, I'm a guy, through and through. Though should I stay like this over the coming years, I could just call myself a trap and just wear dresses to fuck with people but until then I'm going to go for the clothing you have for boys." I replied, re-doing the pants.

"Are...you sure? You'd-"

"Yes. Just give me something practical and that would keep me warm." I interrupted, my voice laced with bitterness.

"Awww... that's not fair." The woman frowned, acting like a child. I guess that's where she gets the energy from. "What am I supposed to do with these dresses now?"

"Maybe, and I know this is a stretch, give to the girl who came with me." I said, imitating her tone of voice.

"You're..right." A fire had lit up in her eye at my words. "I'll be back."

"Okay…"I replied as she ran out of the room, only to come back and throw some clothes at me. "The customer service here is amazing, truely."

I opted to wear what I had gotten in the first place, just a pair of black pants and a shirt. Need to get some shoes and I'm good to go, maybe a jumper for the cold weather. Who knows what else, I'm not here to go full on Lady Gaga.

"How are the clothes fitting in there?" The woman called out again. Her voice almost startled me.

"I'm not really sure." I replied, checking how the clothes look in the mirror. "You'd probably find something wrong if I'm not in a dress."

"I said I was sorry." She replied, whining similarly to a child. "Now, can I come in?

"No. You did not." I stated, a heavy sigh coming out of my mouth as I continued to talk with her.

"Well, I'm sorry. Can I come in now?" She asked

"Hey, This is your store." I replied, putting on the last piece of clothing and setting my own aside. Not sure what I'm going to do with my own but I guess I'll figure something out. "Do whatever you want..."

She walked into the small room, sighing slightly at my edgy choice of clothing. Her body visible slumped as she saw the clothing she gave me on the side. "At least one of you likes what I gave them."

"I bet you just didn't let her say no." I muttered, taking my clothes and putting them back on. Should really wash these, they kinda smell.

"Well, your sister is ready." She moved out of the way to introduce the now fully clothed Erza. Draped in a white dress that reached her knees and slippers that were placed upon her leggings' cased feet.

"Nice. A girl after my own heart." I praised my words, setting off a whirlpool of embarrassment. "Now take them off."

"Huh-Excuse me but-" Erza so eloquently questioned.

"Do you understand how dirty we are? We'd just ruin the clothing you had given us." I replied, Erza nodding to herself. "We'll wear them after we clean ourselves up but until then, I'm going to continue wearing my own clothing."

"What's the point of buying clothing if you don't wear them?" The brunette exclaimed, her voice reaching a higher pitch than I would like.

"Didn't I just explain- Nevermind." I facepalmed, closing the door as she tried to reply. "Goodbye, Let me get changed. You just worry about the money."

"But you'll-"

"Out!" I exclaimed, interrupting whatever she was going to say. I turned to Erza, who just looked confused as usual. "We'll put these on tomorrow, after we get ourselves clean. We don't want to worry them, do we?"

"Oh, No No No. I like this dress, it...reminds me of one from home." Erza said, cracking a smile.

I honestly wonder what I'm going to do about her, about everything. The mirror is reminding me I've lost everything and Erza reminding me that I've got nothing but pain if I stay with her. The only thing keeping me going is the guilt of leaving her and my pride not wanting to take it lying down.

Every time I look at that damn mirror, it makes me just want to punch it in annoyance so I don't have to look at it again. I know I've said this before but I don't get how people would be okay with losing who they were, it pisses me off when thinking about it. I've lived my old face for almost 19 years and I wouldn't trade it for anything else, it's mine and mine alone. The only thing I see is the innocent child, everything I wasn't and I don't want to be.

"Here." Erza called out to me, breaking me out of my slightly depressing thoughts. "Wear this," She held out a red scarf, a long one that would reach down my body. Her eyes staring at me with absolute conviction.

"I don't need a scarf." I replied, taking another look at it. "Plus it's Red, It's really helping the edgy look."

She didn't say a word, instead, taking a step behind me and wrapping the scarf around the lower half of my face. "You look nice but you don't know how you look?" She phrased it as a question more than a statement.

"Yeah, I'm a little weird." I muttered, readjusting the scarf. It's not that hard to breathe in and it works with an outfit. "You're smarter than you look, Erza."

"You're not weird." She stated the slight anger on her face ruined by the blush of embarrassment she had.

"Being weird is not a bad thing," I replied, chuckling a little. "Let's get cleaned and get some food in us."

"Okay." Her bright gigawatt smile bringing out my own, albeit smaller.

**-=Grey Rights=-**

I had pushed a plate away from me as I dug into my own food. Erza had ordered as much as she could and somehow stuffing it down at insane speeds. I'm surprised that none of the food had gotten onto her new clothes.

It had taken a while to clean ourselves, mainly because I was slightly uncomfortable with how comfortable Erza was. I get that she was a child but I still felt that she should have some shame, maybe I'm just weird. Who knows? Though, whatever you may hear, I did not jump out of the water when she came to clean my back.

I did not.

I used the money I stole to get some more clothing for the two of us, mainly some stuff for the rain and cold and one large bedroll should we need to sleep outside. We came across a general store that I quickly popped into, much to the annoyance of the hungry Erza, to buy a few essentials we may need.

Soon after that, I was practically dragged, for the second time today, to an Inn that Erza saw. We were served quite quickly, I guess some perks come with being underestimated.

So in the end, we are clean, food filling our stomachs and a bag full of stuff we may need. Life is heading up for us.

It was then when the door slammed open, I almost choked on the small bit of food I had in my mouth in surprise. A large silhouette stood at the door, the almost set sun covering their facial features and anything that could determine who they were. The bar was silent, the various townsmen and women had broken from their conversations. Their eyes locked onto the door with heated stares, never blinking as the silhouette finally took a step forward.

As the light of the bar hit, I could see why these people are cautious. He was a large man, not really sure how tall with the change in height and all. A long clock that reached down to his knees, a coat full of cuts. A mop of dirty white hair framed his handsome face as it swayed slightly. The most noticeable thing was not the hair but the large sword that was sheathed on his back.

He stepped in as all eyes were on him, his feet gliding past the still bodies of silent aggressors. An eyebrow raised, as if just noticing the atmosphere, whilst a small smirk joined it. His hand reached out and grabbed a cup from one of those sitting down, taking a small sip of the drink before continuing to the counter.

"How may I help you, sir?" The barmaid asked, her face stuck on the patented 'customer smile'. "We have a few rooms ready-"

"Don't worry about that, Sweetheart." He interrupted, his voice as nonchalant as his actions. "I'm here because I've felt some magic appear in this area and my curiosity got the better of me. I was wondering if you knew where it came from"

Those words had sparked something in these people, their eyes narrowing at his form. If they weren't already, those already here had their hands slowly drifting towards their weapons and tools. Even if they didn't move from their seat, they were ready to attack. A large man stood up, his bulky form towering this sword wielder as he stepped into arms reach. "There was no magic here, please take your curiosity and leave."

"You're going to make a paying customer leave?" He asked, taking another sip of the stolen drink. "What kind of establishment are you running here?"

"You and your kind are not welcome here." The hulk-like man said, eyes glaring down at the smaller man. "Take your leave now."

"Yeah, yeah. I can see where I'm not wanted." The man stated, placing his drink on the table and turning to the barmaid. "Can I get one night, please? Single room, though I can make it a double if you'd like to join me."

"Here's a _single _room, it's the third door on the right when you take the stairs. Please leave in the morning." The barmaid stated, shooting down his offer. Her eye drifted towards the large bulking man, who moved his glare onto her." Look at me all you want but I'm not having a fight in my Inn." The hulk huffed, moving back into his seat as he stared at the retreating man.

Erza's eyes were glued to the sword on his back, the food she longed for forgotten in her fascination. Fortunately for her, he was walking towards us as the stairs were so conveniently placed beside us. His eyes glazed over the two of us, my own staring back and Erza's fascinated ones. He took a long second looking at her, his eyebrow raised as he took in her full form.

"You look so out of place to be all the way in the sticks." He stated, stopping right at the end of the table. His eyes are unable to remove themselves from her hair. "What's your name?"

"M-My name is Erza." He replied, her eyes looking anywhere but at him.

"What a pretty name." He stated, before turning his body towards me. "And what about you?"

Erza already messed this up, luckily enough we were far enough away that nobody heard our names. "My name is Merlin."

"You're name's Merlin?" He snorted, chuckling a little to himself. "Of course it is."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" I asked, cutting off his laughter. "I don't see how that's a problem."

"No problem, really it's not. Just something I remembered." He stated, calming down a bit. "It's just that we have both Merlin and Saber here. Weird how life works you know"

"I don't get it," Erza stated, her face portraying her confusion. "Why am I, Saber?"

"Don't worry about it, I'm going to head up now. See ya."

He called her 'Saber'. He called _Erza _'Saber'. There's no way this is a coincidence. It can't be. Is he just tricking us? He must be playing with us, there's no way he carries around that sword without knowing how to use it.

He called her Saber...I'm not the only one who's been transported. There's more...and one of them's already here.

"Erza...We're leaving tomorrow." I left no sake of argument in my tone. Erza understood, nodding before going back to her food.

By this time tomorrow, we're going to be out of here.

**-=Grey Rights=-**

**Yeah, I just couldn't find the motivation to write so this is like 2 months late.**

**Also did not like how this chapter became, thought it could be better. The next chapter is something I'm looking forward to.**


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